The best for the money?

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xxxwolverinexxx

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Jun 30, 2013
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Currently looking to upgrade my CPU but I'm not that well educated on them. I have the AMD FX-6120 CPU and the M3970AM-HP (Angelica2) motherboard. Was looking at AMD FX-8350 but is it compatible? Because i have no clue how to tell. Or is there any CPU that is better in the price range of 250? And do i need to buy a fan to cool? Any help is appreciated thanks!
 
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BnG
If you plan on OC, the 8320 will give you the best price/performance, the 8350 just the best performance but will cost a bit more... As an aftermarkt cooler (only for OC'ing) I'd highly recommend the cooler master hyper 212 evo!
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BnG

BnG

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Although, an OC'ed 8350 would outperform the OC'ed 8320, correct? =)
 
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Ahmadjon

Ahmadjon

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Correct but no need on OC to run system, 8320 is pretty fast for gaming :) but not good for simple tasks :(
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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For the money and ability, the 8320 is the best value.

Stock AMD coolers work quite well for stock applications, but if you intend to overclock then I'd recommend a good aftermarket cpu cooler. At any type of excessive heat, stock coolers tend to sound like a freight train, an aftermarket cooler will help with that too.
 
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BnG

BnG

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If you plan on OC, the 8320 will give you the best price/performance, the 8350 just the best performance but will cost a bit more... As an aftermarkt cooler (only for OC'ing) I'd highly recommend the cooler master hyper 212 evo!
 
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HuseyinCakmak

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Mar 28, 2014
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First of all the mobo wouldn't work with the FX-8350 because the socket's are different. Your motherboard is an AM3-b socket and the fx-8350 is a AM3+ socket , so if you want to use that cpu you would have to upgrade your mobo. Your only upgrade options would be these : fx-8100 , fx-8120 , fx-8150. The fx-8150 is the best option for you I think which is a bit more then 250$ I think. The fx-8120 is 250$. And i would highly recommend for you to buy a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO as a cooler.
 
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AlbusDlx

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Dec 25, 2011
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Socket type: AM3-b
TDP: up to 125W
Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:
Processor TDP
FX-4100 (Zambezi) 65W
FX-6100 (Zambezi) 95W
FX-8100 (Zambezi) 95W
FX-8120 (Zambezi) 95W or 125W
FX-8150 (Zambezi) 125W

Just learned something new. never heard of the AMD3b socket. A pre built machine?
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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AM3-b, black socket is also known as AM3+.
AM3+ CPUs, are not backwards compatible with AM3 boards, because of the size of the pins, however, AM3 CPUs are forwards compatible because the smaller pins will fit a larger AM3+ pin hole. I believe the hpwebsite you looked up the mobo on was probably dated after the release of the 81xx series fx CPUs, but before the 83xx serieswas released, and never updated.

http://whatswithjeff.com/amd-black-am3b-socket/
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Yeah, but that's only because AMD uses the same pinsets for differing architecture. The upgrade is needed in order to recognise the different architecture of the 83xx series. If you don't upgrade, it not all that hard to do anyways and should be done for memory compatibility and bug fixes alone, the bios will think the CPU is toast and start throwing up all sorts of errors.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Btw, being a 970 chipset, its not that bad of a board, much better in fact than the 760G chipsets. Basically, the 9xx fx birds were built with the 83xx series in mind, whereas the AM3+ 760G boards, were not, the 83xx's being an afterthought to help with sales. Being a 970 chipset, there maybe no need for bios upgrade, although it couldn't hurt, I'm unsure of your bios and what revision it is, if any.

Edit: sorry, stupid cellphone autocorrect hah!
 
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AlbusDlx

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Yeah. I am taking the opportunity to learn here. =) If this mobo is part of a prebuilt HP or Dell for example, are they not usually locked? In regards to upgrades. Both HW and firmware I mean. Remember how it used to be perhaps. Not beeing able to upgrade GPU unless you paid them to do it for you and so on. Custom PC all the way man!
 
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Ahmadjon

Ahmadjon

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+1 Custom PC's are much better and cheaper!!! Sometimes twice cheaper!
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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OP, add a little more to your budget and get this and reuse the rest of the hardware in your system, for now. You will then have a true upgrade path and a far more flexible system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($48.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $277.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-29 11:44 EDT-0400)
 
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BnG

BnG

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Wouldn't really be much of an "upgrade" - more an intel based version :l. And if there is a performance increase, it won't be more than 5%.
 
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BnG

BnG

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The FX series are quite good? I run on a Phenom x4 955 / radeon 5850 and I get 45 to 65 fps med settings on BF4 =).
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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And an i3 4130 in 90%+ of all tasks is faster than an FX 6300. Only select multithreaded apps does the FX do well at stock. Overclocking to FX 6350 speeds makes it really competitive with an i3.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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why stop the OC at FX 6350 speeds? a good 4.2-4.3 OC on a 6300, and it'll leave the 4130 behind. So, an alternative for OP would be an FX 6300 and a good cpu cooler, good OC, keep the board he has now (mobo is the only part not upgradeable as bios/windows is tied to the motherboard alone) and save up some money in the upcoming year, the Maxwell gpu's will be out, GTX 8/900 series, the 'rush' for amd gpu's will be over so prices will fall, etc etc etc.
Then the OP can buy parts as warranted based on a decent build spec, and build a respectable system over time, so there is no 'lump sum' sticker shock.
All this while still pluggin away on the slightly upgraded old system, so he won't miss anything.
 
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